Small Fish, Big Pond
by fang shinobi
Summary: Sakura has always been number one… until she transfers to a new school of the weirdest kinds of geniuses around… 'Small fish in a big pond' has now become an understatement.
1. Intro

**Small Fish, Big Pond **by **fang_shinobi**

**Summary:** Sakura has always been number one… until she transfers to a new school of the weirdest kinds of geniuses around… 'Small fish in a big pond' has now become an understatement.

**Disclaimers:** Masashi-Kishimoto-sama is true genius, and I dare not claim ownership over his masterpiece!

**Author's Note:** The school in this fanfiction is fictional, and though it may resemble any you've heard or know of, please pardon me, for this idea did not spring forth of my mind without prior inspiration. Yes, this school is based on one I used to attend, but only to a certain degree. Enough colorful words. All I can say is read on!

**Introduction**

_Geeks_. That was the first thing that came to mind when Sakura first heard of Kusanagi Science High School. _A school for geeks_. That was the second.

And who wouldn't think that? Top students from everywhere apply for that school, and best of the batch or not, the entrance exam is still not easily passed, even without the ninety student per year quota. Only ninety freshmen and one or two sophomores (in case of freshmen dropouts) are admitted. It was pretty exclusive for a government-operated school.

And if you thought getting in was tough, getting out was barely an option. It was either walk out the school gates with a diploma in your hands or get booted out if you flunk. Dropping out for other reasons meant certain circumstances I'm not even going to talk about.

So why then? Why enter this school? Some say that going to this certain educational facility was depriving teenagers of a life. The advanced lessons, tiresome research projects and hectic schedules would be easy turn offs. Unfortunately, it's not their decision to make. Mostly, it's their parents who decide.

But for Miss Haruno Sakura, age sixteen, it had been her decision. "I already told you, I could do better than Ichinoe High," she insisted when she'd been trying to convince her parents. "I can handle Kusanagi." She had spent the last year in Ichinoe, a competent yet academically unsatisfying school. Her freshman year was ending, and the upcoming sophomore admission test was her only chance.

Perfect score sheets. 100's all lined up in a column. She was definitely Kusanagi material. When her parents finally said yes, she managed to grab a spot for the entrance exam. Why, yes, even the admission test had requirements and limited slots.

Fifty students took the test for that one empty slot. Three-quarters of the examinees had an advantage over her, having had taken a similar exam the year prior, but just didn't quite make it in. It would be more impressive if a first-timer such as herself could get the spot though.

And she did. If she didn't, there wouldn't be much of a story, would there?

_She was going to fit in._ She was going to catch up with the previous year's advanced lessons. And she'd still be _number one_.

**Prologue – In Kusanagi, three weeks before the next school year starts…**

"_Hey there! You must be Haruno Sakura! Welcome to Kusanagi High, or Ku-hai as we'd like to call it! I'm Ino! I'll be showing you around!_"

Sakura's mouth hung open half an inch at the sight of the blonde before her. If it wasn't for the obviously Japanese name, the girl's light complexion, sunflower-colored tresses and quick American-English slang would've convinced her that she was talking to a foreigner!

Ino was pretty and sunny, with round baby blue eyes and pink lips. She was slender and long-legged under that short jean skirt, and her golden mane was pulled up in a sporty ponytail. There was nothing remotely geeky about her! Did they hire a model just to welcome her?!

"_Good morning_," Sakura replied in a slow deliberate English. "_Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, Ino-san._"

"No need to be so formal!" responded the other girl. Finally, Nihongo. "We're going to be close friends soon anyway. We'll be roommates for the school year."

_She's actually a student here_, thought Sakura, bemused. First impressions never do last…

**A/N:** Sakura's ambitious? Quite. Being up there in those high ranks could get to one's head. I'm not pointing fingers, mind you. Leave a review please. Chapter 1 will be up within this month.


	2. 1 Student

**Small Fish, Big Pond **by **fang_shinobi**

**Summary:** Sakura has always been number one… until she transfers to a new school of the weirdest kinds of geniuses around… 'Small fish in a big pond' has now become an understatement.

**Disclaimers:** Masashi-Kishimoto-sama is true genius, and I dare not claim ownership over his masterpiece!

**Author's Note:** The school in this fanfiction is fictional, and though it may resemble any you've heard or know of, please pardon me, for this idea did not spring forth of my mind without prior inspiration. Yes, this school is based on one I used to attend, but only to a certain degree. Enough colorful words. All I can say is read on!

**Chapter 1**

"I hate this school I hate this school I hate this school – Aaargh!"

Sakura couldn't help turning towards the source of the chant, which happened to be the lone occupant of one of the canteen's outdoor tables, a blond boy digging through a blanket of paper covering the tabletop. Did she really hear him say that?

Her tour guide, Ino, had been dragging her around the school, from the main building, locker room, faculty room, classrooms, laboratories, auditorium, courts, gym and club rooms. She had now just led them to the canteen, where she insisted they grab a snack.

"Nii-san!" Ino suddenly shouted, running to the table and plopping into the seat across from him. Wait, _that's_ her brother?

"Scram, Imoto-chan," the boy replied in a tired tone without even looking up from the pile of papers. "I can't talk right now."

"Aw, come on, Dei-kun," whined the blond girl, "don't be like that. Don't give Sakura a horrible first impression."

"Sakura who?" he asked, looking up and noticing the other girl for the first time.

Ino grabbed her new friend by the wrist and sat her down beside her. "This is Sakura. She's the new transferee."

"Oh."

"Hajimemashite," greeted Sakura.

"You know, if you keep on talking like that, you'll end up like Lee," he suddenly said, earning a giggle from his sister. He held out his hand. "I'm Deidara, by the way. Unfortunately, I'm Ino's brother."

"What do you mean _unfortunately_?" Ino grumbled as Sakura reluctantly shook her brother's hand. "Niisan-baka!"

"Whatever I want it to mean," Deidara snapped at her. "Now scram. I'm busy." He went back to his paperwork, spreading the sheets around and making more of a mess.

Ino stuck her tongue out at him as she got up.

"Sorry about my brother," she said as she led Sakura to the canteen. "He gets cranky when he's working on their research paper."

"Research paper?"

"Yeah, we'll be starting on ours this year. It'll be torture."

They arrived at the counter of the canteen, which was decked out with shelves of varied bread products, bento neatly lined in rows, jars of sweets and glassed shelves containing dishes in styrofoam cases. Beside the counter was what Sakura assumed to be the grocery.

"This is the canteen and that's the grocery," Ino said. "We can eat outside too, on the school grounds." She grabbed a plate of dumplings and paid for it at the counter. Sakura took some dango. "How about it? Let's eat outside."

Sakura agreed and followed her out.

"Hey, Hinata-chan!" Ino suddenly shouted as they walked out, waving at a girl sitting under one of the trees. They met the girl and sat beside her, Ino leading the introductions.

"Sakura, this is Hinata-chan; she has a brother here. Hinata-chan this is Sakura, our new classmate."

"Hajimemashite," greeted Hinata, a pretty, pale girl with long dark ebony hair and a pair of large dark-rimmed reading glasses adorning her pearl-colored eyes. She sat with a book on her lap: one of those thick novels. She seemed to be the very timid kind, blushing at their presence. She seemed very formal too, the way she greeted Sakura.

"Douzo yoroshiku," replied Sakura. "I'm from Ichinoe High. I'll be in your class this year."

"Hinata-chan is one of the top ranking students," Ino explained, proud of her friend. "She's really smart."

"Is that so?" Sakura asked, suddenly interested. What exactly does it take to rank anyway? "So how is it being one?"

"It's okay," Hinata replied shyly, nodding and causing her glasses to slip down the bridge of her nose. She pushed them back up, blushing a bright pink. "Sometimes it's hard, I guess. I feel really pressured to maintain my grades. Sometimes I think it's a lot better if I'm not ranking."

Sakura and Ino stared at her incredulously, the latter of which had half a dumpling dangling out of her mouth. The blonde chomped down the dumpling and exclaimed, "You're kidding right?!"

"N-no, of course not," replied the dark-haired girl. "It's true. It _is_ hard."

"Nonsense, Hinata-san," laughed Sakura. "It can't be that bad." _After all, it is something you work hard for right? I mean, you won't have to worry when you're confident enough and work hard enough to keep it that way._

"But you make it seem so easy," the blonde insisted.

"It's actually a lot of pressure."

"Is it really that horrible?" Sakura asked.

"For us slackers it is," Ino remarked. "There are loads of homework, hectic schedules, lab reports, sleepless nights, killer homework and this year we'll be having research work. How am I supposed to keep up with that?! I barely passed last year."

"Come on, Ino-chan," said Hinata, almost apologetically, "I mean, we all passed the _same_ entrance exam…"

"Yeah, so much for that."

"Sakura-san, I hope all of Ino's negative remarks haven't given you a bad impression of the school."

"No, not really," Sakura said, considering that Ino _might_ really be just exaggerating.

"It has its perks too."

"Of course it has!" Ino exclaimed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Our parties – when we even have _any_ – stink; the events aren't even fun anymore! We have research events, career seminars and too many science seminars. We have junior high kids and college students touring the school every month, and I've been feeling like an animal in a zoo. Oh! Don't get me started on the fact that we don't participate in interschool sports competitions, and – Oh my god! I'm starting to sound like I hate this school!"

"I hope you don't really feel that way," Hinata said worriedly.

"Yeah, Ino, it's only been a year," Sakura said jokingly.

"Ugh! I'm starting to sound like my brother!" groaned the blonde, plopping another dumpling into her mouth. She spotted Sakura's untouched food. "You know, Sakura, you should eat that. If the boys see you _not_ eating, they'll start calling you anorexic."

"Anorexic? You have those here?"

"No, not really, not any that I know of. But I was having this diet when our health class discussed _anorexia_ and _bulimia_, and they started calling me that for a while. It was horrible."

"The boys _actually_ did that?"

"This may be a science school, but they're the usual bozos you might find elsewhere. Maybe a bit smarter, but they sure don't use their brains here."

"Some just lack motivation, that's all," remarked Hinata.

"Not that I'm saying I'm any better," Ino remarked, a bit embarrassed.

"Okaaay…" said Sakura, picking at the dango. She never thought that students here thought that way. They seemed unexpectedly normal…

"Ino-chan was the top of her class in junior high, you know," pointed out the dark-haired girl.

"_Used to be_," stressed the blond girl. "With all the smartest kids around, that doesn't matter anymore."

Sakura pushed back a lock of her carnation pink hair, finally picking up one of the dango balls. _Well, how about that? _she thought. _This might just be the right place for me. If Ino's any indication to what type of students Kusanagi High has, rising to the top won't be a bother._

…

Three weeks passed by quickly. Ino and Hinata helped Sakura with lessons she had missed last year (those that they might need to know for this year). They met a few of the early dormers or _interns_, as they were called. Dormitory life was easy enough; she had Ino as a roommate, and, though messy at times, the blonde was tolerably organized enough not to invade her private space. Hinata had a bookshelf brimming with books, romance, thrillers, mysteries, fantasies and even horror, for her to borrow and pass the time with.

…

"Sakura, are you actually doing mental math on that?" Ino asked, looking shocked.

"Ino, it's only 2-digit multiplication problem," Sakura pointed out. They were reviewing some math problems when Ino noticed that she was doing the problem manually.

"Here," the blonde said, handing her a calculator.

"I don't need a calculator." She pushed it away.

"Don't tell me you don't have one."

"I do, but-"

"Good, now use it and turn it into your bestfriend. It's one of the basic rules of the Kuhai lifestyle: get nice and comfortable with your scical and bring it everyday; otherwise, you won't survive."

Sakura threw Hinata, who was sitting on a nearby chair, a disbelieving look.

"It's true, Sakura-san," answered the dark-haired girl. "I use my scical so much, I bring it with me even when I'm just out for dinner."

"You won't see anyone multiplying 1 times 1 without one," Ino said matter-of-factly.

"Your dependence on this thing astounds me," the pink-haired transferee said as she eyed the gadget as if it were some dangerous creature. "You aren't just pulling my leg, are you now?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Ino asked, laughing. "Of course not!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'll believe it when I see it." _Okaaay… so how could a bunch of highly intelligent students forsake mental math just to depend on a calculator?_ That was very unlikely.

…

A week before classes, Sakura's uniforms arrived. The winter uniform, which she would start wearing on the first day of school, consisted of a long-sleeved, white blouse, a yellow jacket, a knee-length yellow and black plaid knife-pleated skirt, and a black tie. The summer uniform was a short-sleeved blouse of a more lightweight material with a wide plaid-lined sailor collar, a shorter plaid skirt of the same print and a simple yellow and black ribbon under the collar. So much for inconspicuous. The uniform's color was way too flashy.

"How do you like the uniform?" Ino asked.

"It's okay…" said Sakura. "But does it have to be so… bright?"

"Yeah… Too bad about that…" She picked up her friend's uniform and held it to her hair. "It matches my hair, doesn't it?"

…

As the first day of school approached, Sakura couldn't help feeling excited. She'd finally be amongst what was supposed to be the best of the best students. The entrance exam was hell, but she often wondered about what Ino and Hinata had been telling her. The people she had met the past few weeks were friendly enough, but some seemed so laid-back and chatty they hardly seemed the studious types. If the students here was as normal as they seemed (whether they're _that_ intelligent or not), then she'd have no problem topping the ranks. Look out, Kusanagi High!

…

**Notes:** Nii-san: as you all may know already, it means _older brother_

Imoto-chan: _younger sister_

Deidara and Ino as sibs: see the similarities? LOL

Hajimemashite: a formal pleasantry upon introducing yourself

The research paper: the required thesis paper that we (students of our beloved science school… _sigh…_) have to submit so we could graduate

Douzo yoroshiku: "_Nice to meet you_" which literally means "_Please be kind to me_."

Hinata's glasses: I think she looks a lot cuter (and even way more timid) if she were to wear reading glasses (whether she really needs them or not)

Ranker/Top student/Lister: it's the _Director's List_ in our school; yeah, I feel the same way about it as Hinata…

Research events, etc.: Hell, true. But worth it.

Anorexia nervosa: it's a serious illness, even psychological, wherein the poor patient is convinced that there's nothing wrong with him/her, even though that person either refuses to eat or throws it all up (as if that person accepts it as the normal thing to do during meals); it's also very deadly…

Scientific calculator: I even brought mine when we took that scholarship exam, when we obviously didn't need them!

Yellow uniform: our _orangey_ school uniforms easily stood out in seas of blues and blacks and other dark checkered skirts…

**A/N:** Okay, so this is late but I don't really care lol. Been busy with the _The_ _Difference Between Boys and Girls_, which you know, if you've read it, is my fic where they're all having this boys vs girls fight. Anyways, school's been killer recently… but it's not horrible as my story makes it seem like… and it's just January.

**Shoutout**: Love ya, batchmates!!! Even though everyone was acting sooooooooo retarded during that scholarship exam!!! I know, we're all retarded science students, but we had fun, ne? Especially you, _Magtown_, come on, you didn't have to be so loud! And _Pi ar squared_! You didn't have to cheer when they said the test was over… Anyways, love ya all!!! We're graduating soon! Gonna miss ya!!! You especially, Swatangel, Khazy and Zouie! Mwaa!!!

**Next chap**: First Day of School!


	3. 2 First Day

**Small Fish, Big Pond **by **fang_shinobi**

**Summary:** Sakura has always been number one… until she transfers to a new school of the weirdest kinds of geniuses around… 'Small fish in a big pond' has now become an understatement.

**Disclaimers:** I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does.

…

**Chapter 2**

_Geeks_. _What happened to the geeks?_ Sakura looked around, bewildered. It seemed like your ordinary classroom. A group of boys gathered at one corner of the room, talking noisily as some incomprehensible rock music blasted from someone's music-dedicated cellphone. A couple of girls were chatting about their summer break over a stack of photos. A few students sat apart from the groups and kept to themselves, either reading a book or casually listening to MP3 players through headphones. Other than the shelf stacked with huge hardbound books, presumably science-oriented ones, the room seemed normal enough. It was the first day of school, but the room was already in disarray.

She had joined the freshmen orientation program a couple of days earlier with the freshmen, and today was just the first day of class for the upperclassmen. The first years seemed normal enough, but they couldn't have prepared her for this.

One of the girls had long red hair and wore a pair of thick glasses as she read through what seemed to be a novel, but other than her, there didn't seem to be anything particularly suggestive as to the school's reputation as an academic facility for _geeks, nerds, and the like_. Or was she just totally wrong about the place? Or was her goal to excel here already accomplished?

"_Not what you expected, huh_?" Ino asked in her bubbly English speech as she stepped into the room beside Sakura and Hinata.

"_I guess_," was all the other girl could say… for the meantime, anyway.

The bell rang, and somehow, in the second or two that Sakura had turned away to scan the corridor for an approaching teacher, the students managed to arrange themselves (and the tables and chairs) appropriately. Even Ino and Hinata had already taken seats beside each other.

A couple of latecomers whizzed past Sakura into the room, and one of them bumped into her shoulder.

"Uh, sorry," uttered the boy who'd bumped into her. He suddenly stared at her, as if her bubblegum-pink hair had suddenly jumped out of some _anime_ to eat him up. "Uh, wait a minute. Miss, are you in the right class, or-"

Sakura blinked blankly at the boy. She'd never seen anyone so… blinding. He had a shock of bright blond spiky hair, tan, almost golden, skin and cerulean eyes. The boy's yellow uniform jacket seemed redundant with such sunny features.

"Idiot," muttered another boy, appearing behind the blond one, shoving him forward. He turned to Sakura. "Excuse my friend. His brain is pretty slow in the mornings." He practically pushed his classmate into one of the seats.

Sakura couldn't help staring at this guy as well. His spiky black hair and deep onyx eyes contrasted heavily against the pallor of his skin. Compared to Mr. Sunshine he was shoving, he seemed as dark as night.

Suddenly, a friendly-looking man, probably the teacher, appeared at the entryway behind her. He had dark brown hair and a jovial expression on his face. He most likely seemed to be in his twenties. Could he possibly even be a teacher?

Sakura scooted out of the way, taking the seat next to Ino, as the dark-haired man entered and took his place in front of everyone.

"Ohayou, minna-san," he greeted them.

Supposedly like the practice in elementary and middle high school, the students stood up, _unsynchronized_, and greeted, "Ohayou, sensei." There were two things Sakura expected the teacher to do in this situation: (a) scold the students and have them repeat their sloppy performance until they got it right, or (b) ignore them all and get to the tasks at hand, such as introductions and other formalities. Surprisingly, the teacher did neither.

The man suddenly laughed and said, "Nice try, but I don't require you to greet me every time I hold a class. In fact, I'd appreciate it if you didn't."

A few students laughed at that as they all took their seats. Talk about classroom management. Are all teachers in this school that laid-back?

"Whoops." The door slid open and two boys sauntered into the room, both surprisingly nonchalant. "We're late. Teacher's here," added the tall, lanky, tan-skinned boy with spiky brown hair and oval glasses.

"And whose fault is it?" jeered the other student standing behind him, a brown-skinned, blondish boy with an almost amused expression on his face.

"Yo, boys, take your seat," said the sensei. "It's the first day of school, so I can afford to pass off this offense. Next time, try getting here on time though. It won't be that hard to do, seeing as I have this horrible habit of being late." He laughed as the two boys took the two remaining seats left in the classroom.

"Hey, Sakura, see the guy with black hair?" Ino, sitting to her right, whispered, leaning her head forward a bit to spy at the dark-haired boy who'd shoved his friend earlier on. He sat two seats away from the pink-haired girl, his blond friend sitting between them.

Sakura nodded. "That's Sasuke," continued Ino. "He's our top ranker."

The pink-haired girl almost did a double take. _That_ guy? Her first impression of him was that he was a pretty boy. He had jet black hair that was spiky at the back and eyes just as dark. He had pale, smooth skin that any pop star would envy. This guy was gorgeous. In fact, he looked more like one of those brooding drama show stars. Not really her type of guy. But a ranker? Much less the _top_ ranker?

She couldn't help shaking her head in disbelief. This does not add up. Nothing in this school does.

"Anyway, I've been teaching at a different school until this year," continued the sensei, "which means that this is my first year teaching here. Which is why you may not know me.

"My name is Fuu Jan. Just call me Jan-sensei. I'll be your advisor and Geometry teacher. Now, I have introduced myself, and so it's time for you to return the gesture. If we just did it the old-fashioned way that would be boring, right? So let's play a little game."

A hand shot up. "What game would that be, Sensei?" asked the blond boy beside Sakura.

"The game, my boy, is a little personality quiz, which will hopefully also lead to you getting to know your friends some more as well. Are you all up for it?"

Murmurs spread through the class quickly.

"Is that a joke?" "Cool." "That is one weird teacher." "Should we play along?" "Anything to put off lessons." "C'mon, don't be killjoys. Let's play." "Man, that's one funny guy." "He must be kidding."

"Sure, we'll play!" a boy with aqua-colored hair volunteered.

"Let's begin then. Everyone, push your chairs and desks to the side of the classroom."

The students did as they were told in the least graceful manner possible. Their chatter was drowned off by the noise of the desks and chairs scraping against the floor. It was a surprise none of the other teachers came to reprimand them for their racket.

By the time all the seats were pushed aside, Sakura had Ino on one side and the blond guy she'd bumped into on the other.

"I wonder what this new teacher has planned for us," he laughed.

Next to him was Sasuke, who just rolled his eyes in response.

The blond-haired teen turned and finally noticed Sakura beside him. "Oh, you're that girl I bumped into, right? Uh, so you're my classmate?"

"Duh, Naruto," Ino answered for her friend, "she's the replacement for what's-her-name."

"What's her name?"

"You know, _her_."

"Seriously, what's her name? Coz it's all a bad memory to me, I must've repressed it." His voice was cracking up with laughter, obviously finding the topic hilarious.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Sakura-chan, this is Naruto. Naruto, Sakura."

"Hajimemashite."

"Yo." He cocked his head towards his dark-haired friend. "This is Sasuke, by the way."

Sasuke grunted in annoyance at his friend's unwanted introduction.

Sakura didn't know exactly how to react to that, so she merely nodded her head in response.

"You know," Naruto suddenly said, as if voicing out an afterthought, "you're cute."

She blinked repeatedly in surprise. Now _that_ she didn't know how to respond to.

The blond boy's head suddenly snapped forward, apparently, from a rap of Sasuke's knuckles.

"Don't listen to Naruto," Ino suddenly cut in, "he's just being silly." Sasuke hmphed in agreement.

Naruto just smiled cheerfully, as if not hearing the fellow blond's remark.

"Okay, guys, let's begin the game," announced Jan, setting four chairs in a row in the front of the room. "These chairs will represent each of the choices to the questions I'll be asking. Basically, we'll be getting to know each other by the type of answers you choose. I'll also be asking some of you the reasons behind these answers. Ready?"

Naruto raised a hand. "Can you choose more than one choice or neither?"

"Nope. You have to choose one. Only one. Okay, let's start." Jan started reading off a notebook in his hand. "First question: If aliens were invading the Earth, what would you do?"

Loud gasps and other similar exclamations erupted from the class. "What sort of question is that?" was their collective thought.

"A, build an underground bunker and live underground for the rest of your life. B, fight the intruders tooth and nail until your last breath. C, cooperate with the aliens in hopes of saving yourself, or D, take your life before they can use you to their advantage. Go!" When the students merely gaped at him, he added, "Five seconds! Five, four-"

What ensued after that could only be compared to a stampede of rhinos, people pushing and shoving to get a spot in the line of their choice. Sakura barely managed to squeeze herself between Ino and Hinata in the first line, where a majority of the students had packed themselves into.

"One. Times up," said Fuu Jan, satisfied with the students' efforts. "Well, well, what do we have here?"

He approached the third chair, where the lone occupant leaned against the chair with his elbows. A few chuckles escaped the crowd when they saw him all alone in his treachery against mankind. "Who do we have here?"

The only student who'd chosen to cooperate with the invaders shrugged. "Shikamaru," he said in a bored manner.

"And, say, Shikamaru-kun, why did you choose to cooperate with the invading aliens instead of, say, living off root crops in an underground tunnel system?"

He snorted. "Coz the line's less crowded."

Another round of chuckles and giggles. One of the guys from the next line good-naturedly punched him in the shoulder, laughing and snorting in his amusement.

"If given the choice," continued their sensei, "would you?"

"Yeah," replied the student, confident of his answer. "If it'll keep me alive."

A round of boos welcomed his answer.

"Hey, it's a do or die world," he said over is shoulder, an indifferent look still on his face.

"That's Shika," Ino explained to Sakura. "Looks as if he doesn't have a care in the world, but he was a lister last year."

"He's really smart," added Hinata. "But he doesn't like work too much."

Sakura nodded her head absentmindedly. The characters in this school were getting weirder and weirder.

"Well, that's a very practical answer," mused Jan. "Okay, next choice. Okay, Miss-"

"Kayako," said the light-haired girl, already giddy with laughter. She was first in line for choice D, grasping the seat for support in her excitement.

"Okay, Kayako-chan. Why did you choose to… end your life? Isn't that a bit extreme?"

The girl laughed, as if she couldn't contain her laughter anymore, and tried repeatedly to bottle it back in by covering her mouth. Her friend poked her in the side, as if trying to help her do so.

"Get on with it!" shouted a tall boy with dark skin and bright orange hair, his head visible over most of the other students.

"I'd rather die than let them use me!" she answered in a loud mega phone voice, breaking out into raucous laughter soon after.

The rest of the class laughed or groaned in embarrassment.

"What's with her?" Sakura whispered to Ino, who was giggling as well.

"That's Kaya-chan," the blonde replied, the sides of her mouth still lifted upwards, as if she hadn't stopped laughing yet. "She's… well, loud. And speaks her mind, basically, no matter what comes out of her mouth. Don't worry. You'll get along with her."

Sakura shook her head this time, all the more confused.

"How about choices A and B?" asked their teacher.

"Fight for our planet!" shouted Naruto, first in line with those who wanted to defend their race. "Woohoo!"

The rest of the members of choice B cheered and applauded in agreement.

"Freedom!" shouted a raven-haired girl, one of the limited females lined up with them.

"Naruto is…" Ino started to explain to Sakura, "well, he's Naruto."

"How about you, choice A?" asked Jan.

"We can't all fight," answered a tall girl with mocha-colored hair.

"Someone has to stick around and take care of the kids, right?" said another one, a pretty girl with jet black bobbed hair and small slanted eyes.

The others in line nodded in agreement.

"Hmph, you're all just too coward to raise up arms," said one of the boys. He had messy brown hair and sharp dark eyes.

That was when the two lines started bickering.

"Whoa, whoa, guys," said their sensei, "calm down now."

When the fighting continued, he added, "Okay, next question."

The students backed away from the chairs and started intermingling again, and that was the end of that short-lived feud.

"If you were stuck in a deserted island, what would you…" The questions that followed ranged from the cliché to the absolutely crazy. "If you were to manage a band, what genre would it be under?" "If you were given the chance to appoint any one person as ruler of the entire world, who would it be?" "If you won a hundred million yen…"

Well, the choices were just as absurd: "A, a Swiss army knife, B, your boyfriend or girlfriend, C, a comfortable bed, or D, lots of canned goods?" "A, alternative, B, punk rock, C, rock 'n' roll, or D, a boy band?" "A, a communist, B, an action movie star, C, a politician, or D, a missionary?" "A, invest your money, B, shop till you drop, C, donate to the poor, or D, lock it all up so no one can use it."

As the game went on, numerous conflicts arose. "Why bring your girlfriend? They're an extra mouth to feed!" "What can you do with canned foods if you ain't got a can opener, huh?" "Well, what the hell can the can opener on your Swiss knife open without cans?" "Boy bands aren't considered bands!" "So what? They're composed of hot guys anyway. Kyaaa!" "A missionary can't rule the world. They don't know about politics." "Politics? This isn't about politics. It's about what'll be good for the world as a whole, you idiot." "I won't use the money coz the government will just keep on taxing me." "How about the needy and the poor?" "Well, I'm needy. I need to buy the next installment of the _Fang Shinobi Quest_ games!"

In that sense, Jan-sensei had been right. You really can tell a lot about a person by the answers he or she takes. She observed that Hinata liked to choose safe answers or the more noble ones, like donating the millions to the poor and opting to resolve conflicts via diplomacy. Ino played it safe at some points but leaned more towards the more romantic or over-the-top choices. Meanwhile, Naruto preferred the more unique answers, like choosing to tame and train giant lizards if they ever tried taking over the city. Sasuke, on the other hand, liked to choose more practical answers, like investing the money and other similar answers.

"Her name is Sakura," answered Ino. "She's the transferee."

"Hai," murmured Sakura, blushing slightly as her friend answered the question she was a too shy to answer. With all eyes on her now, she couldn't help being embarrassed.

"So, Sakura-chan," continued Fuu Jan. "Seeing as you're new here as well, everyone would probably want to know more about you. Can you tell us why you chose updating the school curriculums rather than the other developments, like beautifying the campus, improving the canteen menus or building new lab facilities?"

Ino had chosen beautification, Hinata, new facilities and Naruto, canteen menus. Sakura was suddenly all too aware of Sasuke's presence behind her, along with the spectacles-wearing redhead, a few other students who looked like they could be rankers and, surprisingly, a hyperactive girl with long curly hair.

"Well, an old, out-of-date curriculum isn't much help, is it?" she said. "I mean, if updating it would make it more challenging, then why not?"

"Hmph, she's the grade-conscious type," she heard someone say.

"Won't last long," she heard another murmur. "She'll give it up sooner or later."

Sakura was compelled to turn around and seek out whoever said those things, but the curly-haired girl behind her suddenly spoke up. "Ooh, I have a good reason too, Sensei!"

"Go ahead."

"The newer curriculum wouldn't be old-fashioned, right? Which means, out-of-class learning experiences and more field trips!"

The other students clapped and cheered to that.

The redhead behind her scoffed in annoyance, while Sasuke suppressed a chuckle.

"Good idea, Miss-" said Jan.

"Mikan," she answered, smiling giddily.

"Well, there we have it," said their sensei, snapping his guide notebook close. "That's getting-to-know-each-other Fuu Jan style. Well, how was it?"

The majority clapped and cheered. It was way more fun than they had expected. It was to be expected that more taunting and jeering would be derived from this activity later on, when the students would start gibing each other over each other's answers.

…

"Well, that was rude," Sakura muttered irritably as she, Ino and Hinata headed for the canteen later on, when Jan gave them a little break.

"What was?" asked Ino.

"Someone said I was grade conscious and I wouldn't last long this way."

"It happens. It's the stress. Most people can't take it and just don't try to excel anymore. Don't worry though. I don't think you'll give up on it like I did."

"The truth of the matter is," said Hinata, "we're all small fish in a big pond."

"Exactly," agreed Ino.

"Let's see about that," grumbled Sakura.

…

**Notes:** Fuu Jan: Based on a teacher we all love lol.

Greeting the teacher: like in Japanese schools, it's common courtesy in our country as well. We're not too synchronized at it, seeing as we're undisciplined bozos. But there are teachers who tell us directly that we don't need to do that, while there are some who don't mind whether we do it or not. We don't do that in college, especially in my school – in fact, I don't even feel like I'm in a classroom; the teachers look like students, and some students look like teachers, we don't stand up to recite, and we have no classroom courtesy whatsoever. Well, that's college for ya.

Personality Test: Just something I made up. During our first homeroom class, we played other games that were just as kooky, just so we could get to know each other.

Small fish in a big pond: I've always been one since I was in high school, and it's déjà vu for me in college. Most people insist I'm smart, but I just don't excel, especially with all these hard-working geniuses around me.

Mikan: Hyperactive, childish and unpredictable, she's an OC based on me. She's addicted to manga, fan fiction and computer games. You can find her in my first-priority fic _The Difference Between Boys and Girls_ as well.


	4. 3 Circus

**Small Fish, Big Pond **by **fang_shinobi**

**Summary:** Sakura has always been number one… until she transfers to a new school of the weirdest kinds of geniuses around… 'Small fish in a big pond' has now become an understatement.

**Disclaimers:** If only I were Masashi Kishimoto, which I'm not, I'd own Naruto, but I don't. I don't own Jump either.

…

**Chapter 3**

Sakura glanced around the busy canteen, seemingly populated by what seemed to be upperclassmen. It seemed like your everyday, ordinary, loud and messy canteen. Tables were rearranged to match the number of its occupants, while stray chairs littered the area. Some of the tables were loud and obnoxious, while one was having some sort of food fight.

"There's my niisan," said Ino upon spying her brother. She took Sakura by the wrist and led her to his table. "Come on."

"Um, Ino-san-"

"Ino would be fine," she interrupted. "Enough with the formalities already."

"Okay, _Ino_. Anyway, I don't think it's a good idea to join you brother. He's with his friends."

"Friends, shriends," replied the blonde as they neared the table. "Niisan!"

"Imoto-chan, shoo," said her older brother amidst his friends' laughter. "I can't have my li'l sister hanging around me!"

"Shut up, Aniki, I'm not here for you. Hey, sempai!" she greeted the upperclassmen at the table.

"Hey, Ino-chan," most of them chorused in response, some more cheerfully than others.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet the new girl, Sakura-chan. Sakura, this is Sasori, Tobi, Nagato, Yahiko, Konan, Hidan, Kakuzu, Kisame and Itachi."

"Um, y-yoroshiku," stammered Sakura, embarrassed.

"No need to be shy, sweetie," said the only female at the table who wore her midnight blue hair back in a bun. "My name is Konan," she said with a friendly smile, holding her hand out. "I hope we can be good friends."

Sakura took the outstretched hand in reluctance. "Yeah, I hope so too."

"And I'm Yahiko," suddenly announced the boy with bright, orange hair, putting his hand on the two girls', only to have Konan glare at him and slap him on the shoulder.

"Behave, you," she scolded.

"Whaaat?" he complained.

"I'm Tobi!" announced the tall one with spiky ink-black hair and the pale, yet cheery face as he raised one hand into the air.

"Nagato," said another one with the long, raven bangs.

"Sasori," said the redhead sitting beside her brother.

As the all the sempai introduced themselves in a similar manner, Sakura couldn't help staring in surprise when the last of the introductions were made.

"Itachi," said the one sitting at one end of the table. He had long ebony-black hair pulled back in a ponytail, eyes just as dark and skin so pale it contrasted heavily against his darker features. He looked just like –

"Maybe you've met my otouto, Sasuke," he added with a small smile. "I believe you're in the same class."

"Uh, yes, it seems so," Sakura said with a slight blush. Though he looked just like his younger brother, he had this lighter, friendlier aura about him quite unlike Sasuke.

"Hang out with us sometime," said Yahiko. "We hang out at the-" he was interrupted, but it was Deidara who shoved him in the face this time.

"I already told you to go, Imoto-chan," he ordered. "Shoo, shoo."

"Hai, hai," replied his sister. "Seeing as we're not wanted…" She took Sakura's hand and led her away.

"Later," said Konan with a small wave of her hand as some of the sempai followed suit.

"Well, they seemed… friendly," commented Sakura, waving back hesitantly. "What was that for anyway? Dragging me all the way to your brother's table?"

"Well, you can't get by high school without knowing some sempai. They're pretty handy friends when you need them. They'll be very good help with homework, projects and even with our research paper."

"I wasn't really counting on asking for help from sempai while I'm studying here," said Sakura.

"Don't be silly! We'll need all the help we can get!"

"And that was Sasuke's brother?" the pink-haired girl asked after a while.

"Yeah, they look a lot," said Ino, "but don't go around saying that out loud. Sasuke resents that."

"He does?"

"Yeah, some sort of little brother inferiority complex or something like that. You probably get the idea."

Sakura was an only child, so she didn't really understand it too well.

"They're really different once you know them well enough though," added Ino.

"Really? In what way?" Sakura asked, curious.

By then, Ino had pulled her in line, where they met Hinata and one of their dorm mates, and the blonde was unable to answer her question.

"Hey there, new girl," greeted the upperclassman, her brown hair pulled up in buns on either side of her head.

"Tenten-sempai, right?" asked Sakura.

"Yup. How's your first day here?"

"Uh, just fine. It's… not exactly what I was expecting…"

"Not as you were expecting, eh?" The sempai smiled, as if she had expected that answer.

"It's always like that once you get to know us," supplied Hinata. "We're… different…"

"Very different," added Ino, laughing, as the upperclassman pointed at this and that at the display tray.

"Oh, and I want this too," said the brunette. "And that one too."

"Um, Tenten-sempai has an… insatiable appetite…" explained Hinata.

"_Insatiable? _So mean… I just have a fast metabolism," whined Tenten, taking her tray loaded with pastries. "Girl's got to eat, you know. Besides, we're playing volleyball after class."

Sakura stared on as Ino kept berating her sempai, who wasn't one to back down from the argument, still insisting that her body was just that way.

Hinata _was_ right. The people here were definitely different…

…

"What's going on?" inquired Sakura upon hearing the commotion coming from the nearby courts.

She was already returning to the classroom with her classmates, having already eaten their snacks.

Ino merely shrugged in reply, not even bothering to stop walking. "Must be the boys playing basketball. They always make a lot of noise."

"Basketball?" Sakura shook her head. _Surely, they can't be good at that…_

"Sakura-chan?" said Hinata, noticing her friend's sudden curiosity. "Do you… want to watch the game?"

"Come on, let's get back to the room," whined their blond friend, "it's just a bunch of guys sweating it out on the court."

"I think it's our classmates," observed Sakura as she started heading for the court. Hinata followed suit, and Ino did so after some hesitation.

Sakura couldn't believe what she saw. Well, it wasn't at all NBA-worthy, not even close, but surprisingly, the boys were playing quite well. It was nothing like watching otaku or geeks playing. They played no worse than her classmates from any of her previous schools, which says a lot, for a bunch of geeks, that is.

Incidentally, the player most evidently the best amongst them was no other than Sasuke. For someone who was that smart, did he have to do so well at sports too?

She noticed a group of girls cheering him on from the sidelines like a bunch of groupies. He barely looked there way, much less acknowledged there support.

"The boys like to play ball a lot," remarked Ino. "Some of them are pretty tall, you know. Sometimes they even play baseball or even volleyball. We don't get to compete in interschool competitions though, so everyone's out of practice."

_Out of practice?_ Sakura thought incredulously. "Well, they play a lot, so isn't that practice enough?"

"Not really. I used to be in the girls' varsity volleyball team, and _this_ is not training," replied Ino, cocking a thumb at the game. "Shouldn't they at least put this off till _later_ though? We still have class hours left, even if they are still informal. I _do not_ want to have class with those sweaty, smelly guys later."

Sakura cringed at the thought. "Well, isn't there some sort of school regulation against playing during breaks?"

Ino shrugged. "We're already _socially deprived_ as it is," she joked. "Taking games away will probably turn the boys into zombies."

Sakura didn't find her joke too funny.

…

"I don't know if you've noticed, Naruto," said Ino, hovering over Sakura's desk, "but you're absolutely soaked."

"So's Sasuke and half the guys in class," he countered, wiping the sweat off his brow as he took his seat.

"It's April. How can you even sweat that much?"

"What? I sweat easily, okay?"

"Ew, I did not want to hear that."

Sakura was a bit surprised to see how nonchalantly Ino talked with the boys in class. In her case, she wasn't too friendly with the opposite sex back at Ichinoe, which was the case with most of the girls there. Here, the line was blurred a bit, and she recognized the raven-haired girl who'd chosen to fight for freedom against the aliens chatting casually with some guys, while the twin girls with yellow highlights joked with one of the boys. Things here were definitely too relaxed.

"Oi, Naruto, catch!" called out one of the boys from the other side of the room.

The blond boy ended up catching some sort of book with his face. "Ow! That was intentional, Kage!" he accused, his face red, either from the impact or from mere aggravation.

"Nuh-uh," denied the other boy, dark-haired with amber eyes.

"You just have horrible reflexes," added the one of the boys, pale and aqua-haired, also shouting from across the room.

"Urusai, Suigetsu – Hey, wait! What issue is this?" gasped Naruto in surprise when he saw the cover of the book.

"This weeks'," replied Kage, rolling his eyes. "Duh."

"No waaaaay! I didn't get to buy one this morning!"

"And _you're_ the _extern_" – that was what they called non-dormers – "who lives near the convenience store, for crying out loud."

"That's because Naruto's always up so late," supplied Sasuke in a sarcastic manner, as his blond friend was already too engrossed on the book to come up with a good comeback.

Sakura eyed the blond boy curiously from her seat. A book, huh?

"That's Naruto for you," giggled Ino. "No book on earth can make him read except for _Jump_. Wait a minute, Jump's not even a book." She laughed.

Sakura looked at the front over. It was quite colorful, the main protagonists of some of the manga within seemingly jumping out with their vibrant colors.

She looked around the room once more. The game had ended a while ago, and the sweaty boys had filed into the classroom, bringing with them the "atmosphere" that clearly stated "I just got back from a game", just as the girls had feared. Almost everyone was back in the room now, and she saw some of the boys reading the same publication. The curly-haired girl from before was already arguing with Kage over something in one of the manga.

"No way, that's not how Fang would have seen it."

"What would you know, Mikan? Besides, if you haven't noticed, Fang Shinobi Chronicles is shounen."

"Well, I've read more shounen manga than you have, even if I happen to be a girl."

"Ha. As if."

"Remember her?" Ino asked Sakura as they gazed at the squabbling duo. "She's Mikan, our beloved manga and anime addict. Ask her about any manga or anime. I bet she would know about it. Just don't ask too much about shoujo, coz she comes out blank."

Of all people to turn out to be an otaku, it was _this_ girl.

"She fights with Kage a lot – and, oh," Ino suddenly said, as if as an afterthought, "she's a lister too."

Sakura felt her mouth pop open as she gaped at the girl. Her?

"Hey, guys!" suddenly chirped one of the twins, the one probably named Yuriko, with straight bangs and golden highlights falling over her ears.

"We made up a dance!" said her sister, Maya, whose raven hair was parted in the middle, the lock of blond highlighted hair pushed behind one ear.

The two bounded up to the platform in front of the blackboard and started singing one of those repetitive-lyric songs and dancing in a comical fashion.

One of the boys, the incredibly tall one with the brown, spiky hair and glasses, got up and danced along with them, and so did some of the guys. Ino sang along to the weird song, while Naruto managed to look up from his book long enough to break into loud laughter.

Even Mikan and Kage stopped fighting to watch, while Sasuke seemed amused.

The classroom was in chaos when Jan appeared at the door, the boys doing exaggerated versions of the dance while the twins continued leading the performance.

"Yo, peeps, what's up?" he greeted them, and they all rushed back to their seats.

"Now, now, no need to be so hasty," he laughed. "Mind teaching me that dance? How do you do that again?" He made what seemed to be the most hysterical version of the dance anyone could possibly come up with, and the whole class laughed. Even Sakura couldn't help laughing at him despite her reluctance. This was a teacher! Students usually don't laugh at their teachers! And yet she laughed, crying out loud, "Sensei, please stop acting like that!"

"We found something out!" chorused a bunch of boys as they barged into the room, either unaware or not caring about the fact that they were late.

The one with the blondish brown hair exclaimed, "Jan-sensei graduated from Kuhai!"

"He had some of the same teachers we have now!" added the redhead with him.

"No way!" exclaimed the class.

"Ah, I've been found out," laughed their teacher.

"Knew it!" exclaimed Naruto. "Any teacher that kooky has got to have graduated from Kuhai!"

"Eh, but all the teachers here are kooky!" laughed Ino.

"Oi, Kouji, Rei, who did you hear that from?" Naruto inquired excitedly.

"Sarutobi-sensei said so," replied Rei, the one with reddish-brown hair.

"Dang! I wish I found that out myself."

"We have to thank the teachers for being so chatty!" laughed Kouji, the one with blondish brown hair.

"Cool! I want to teach here when I graduate too!" announced one of the girls, Hana, with long mocha-colored hair.

"No way!" exclaimed Mikan. "And work with our old teachers? That's so strange!"

Sakura stared on in disbelief for the nth time that day. Everyone in the room was noisy, messy and utterly incoherent. Some were laughing so loud they were falling off their seats while others looked like they were getting an asthma attack. Furthermore, the desks and chairs were in more of a disarray than they were before, while some of the students had wandered so far from their seats in their bouts of hysterical laughter. Was this really a school or some sort of circus?

…

**Notes:** i: Aniki : another way of calling one's older brother

ii. Fang Shinobi Chronicles: I've been recycling stuff from my DBG, so what? LOL. I can't have Naruto reading his own manga, right? In DBG, FSC has both a manga and a video game. I better note that it has an anime as well.

iii: OC's: It doesn't really matter if you want to know them or what. Just ignore there presences for a while unless they start getting important roles. Most OC's based on me and my high school classmates. Yes, even the twins and Fuu Jan.

iv: Plot: Is there even one? I'll think one up later… oh well… just let the chaos ensue, ne?

**A/N: **Hell! College is hell I tell you! I've died and been thrown into hell! I want to go back to high school (sobs)… huhuhu…

**Next Chap: **How will Sakura fare in academics? Next chapter better be proper classes!


End file.
